Accusations: It has been claimed that Peter and Louise Mensch were long embroiled in an adulterous affair before they got married

For two decades, Louise Mensch –née Bagshawe – has cast a shadow over Melissa Meyer.

Yet until recently, Melissa could at least take heart that the new wife of her ex-husband Peter Mensch lived far from her home in New York’s Greenwich Village.

But now, after Louise resigned her Tory MP’s seat to live with rock band manager Peter in the States, the two blondes are just four miles apart.

The likelihood of them peacefully coexisting seems especially remote after the startling claim by the family of Melissa, known as Missy, that Peter and Louise were long embroiled in an adulterous affair.

In August, Louise, 41, dramatically announced she was resigning her seat in Corby, Northamptonshire.

The chick-lit author’s career as an MP was marked by controversy. Yet nothing was more surprising than her wedding in June 2011 to Peter, whose bands include Metallica. It followed his divorce from Melissa in December 2010.

Now Melissa’s family have voiced suspicions the couple had a 20-year affair when they were both married – Peter to Melissa, and Louise to US businessman Anthony LoCicero.

Speaking exclusively to The Mail on Sunday, Melissa’s sister-in-law Laura Meyer said the family believe the affair began when Louise, then an undergraduate, invited Peter to the Oxford Union to talk about the music industry.

‘I feel it is important to make public our suspicions Louise was having a relationship with Peter which we believe dates back to when she was 18 or 19 years old,’ said Ms Meyer. ‘When Missy found out in August 2009 they had been involved in an affair, she was devastated.’

Last week, Peter, 59, said that their love blossomed in 2009, after Louise separated from Anthony. Peter was still married to Melissa, but says Louise told him she had loved him for 20 years. Asked if they had an affair before that, he said: ‘Hmmm . . . no.’

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They stayed in touch after their first meeting in 1990. Louise has credited Peter with helping her land a job with record label EMI.

The same year, Peter married Melissa, his second wife. The couple have 17-year-old twins Eli and Hannah, and a daughter Jona, 16. In 1995, Louise dedicated her novel Career Girls to Peter, thanking him ‘for taking me along for the ride’.

In it, Rowena, a ‘blonde’ and
‘beautiful’ British woman – educated at Louise’s old Oxford college,
Christ Church – has a long affair with a married, older Jewish-American
music tycoon. He eventually dumps his wife for Rowena. The book features
a brash American, ‘Marissa’.

Louise married Anthony in 2000. They had three children, but in May 2009 she announced their separation.

The Mail on Sunday has established that Louise declared her love for Peter in February 2009 at a Metallica gig.

Standing down: In August, Louise, 41, dramatically announced she was resigning her seat in Corby, Northamptonshire

Peter admitted to an affair and requested a divorce. ‘Missy did everything to save the marriage,’ said her brother Fred. The family said she was ‘creeped out’ by the parallels in Career Girls.

Melissa kept the family’s £4.4 million townhouse, while Peter and Louise have a mansion on the Upper West Side. Peter refused to discuss the claim of an affair with Louise, saying: ‘I don’t talk about my ex-wife and I don’t talk about Louise. I’m not going to discuss my personal life.’